Find Your Way Home
by Tamnation
Summary: AU. McCoy is a Doctor in WWII and Jim is a pilot. Jim's been away for a while. SLASH


Title: Find Your Way Home 1/1

Rated: PG

Word Count: 1,375

Pairing: Jim/Bones

Summary: Leo is a doctor at an army hospital in WWII and Jim is a pilot. Jim's been away on a mission. Written for the reunion square on my lj schmoop_bingo card.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, and no profit was made by me.

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There were days when Leo wished he wasn't a doctor. He wished he'd become a vet or a lawyer, or any other cursed occupation that didn't leave him stuck in a hospital for hours with the dying. But the McCoy men had been one of two occupations for as long as they'd lived in the state of Georgia: Doctors or Soldiers. Leo couldn't really imagine killing someone, even if it would've made his granddaddy proud. But today was one of those slow days at the hospital. The calm before the storm that would bring the new wave of casualties in from the evacuation centres closer to the front. Quiet days meant short shifts, an actual hour for lunch and far too much time to think about the many possible ways to die in a fighter plane.

Jim had been gone four weeks now. The day before he left, he'd promised Leo he'd be back in a week, sealing it with a kiss. Leo had smiled and promised to see Jim when he returned safely in two. But two weeks had melted away into the endless hours spent tending to soldiers wounds and checking each face for familiar features and bright blue eyes. Leo didn't know if it was better that he hadn't found them.

So days like today, Leo sat around and imagined that he'd decided to be a soldier or a field medic or almost any occupation at all. Because no general in their right mind would assign a neurosurgeon to the front line. Instead he's stuck here, waiting for his flying ace to come home. But he'll be damned if he'll gush and fret the way his nurses do while they're supposed to be working.

"Doctor McCoy? I thought you'd gone home for the night." Leo looked up to find nurse Chapel in the doorway to the senior medical office.

"I was just about to." To emphasise the point, he stood though a moment before he'd had no thought of leaving. His thoughts had been high above his head, piloting the skies for the umpteenth time, as they were prone to do when he was by himself. As usual, he was left that little bit uncertain and with a taste of nausea in the back of his throat. Nurse Chapel was still there. "Is there a problem, Christine?"

"A patient. He said his CO ordered him to get checked out by a doctor and he won't leave till someone's seen him."

"And?" Leo's eyebrow rose of it's own accord.

"Well, sir. It was so quiet today that all the other doctors on this ward have already gone home. Could you just look him over quickly so I can go home, sir?"

"Damn it Christine, isn't M'Benga supposed to be on tonight?" Christine shrugged and Leo let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll check out the idiot on my way home. But you and Geoff owe me one."

"Thanks Leonard. You're a life saver."

* * *

Leo was grumbling to himself as he entered the examination room. He barely glanced at the figure standing near the wall. He just closed the door and reached for his stethoscope.

"I'm Doctor McCoy and I will say this once. You'd better not be wasting my time."

"I know you love me really, Bones." Leo snapped his head up. The pilot turns with his cocky smirk firmly fixed in place. "What no warm welcome? I thought you'd at least get stuck into me about being late."

Leo still can't find the words. He's stuck, standing still and fiddling with the stethoscope in his hands. The pilot moves forward, looking worried. It tugs at Leo's heart but Leo's mind is fighting the truth.

"Bones? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gone so long. It's just things didn't go as planned…" Leo cuts him off.

"Jim." Now Leo has found his tongue all he wants to do is break down and mutter the damn cliché's: _'Never do that again', 'Damn it Jim, you'll be the death of me', _or the heartfelt _'Don't leave me'. _But he doesn't. The grim resignation on Jim's face as he lied would've broken Leo. Instead he's shoving Jim backwards so that he's back against the wall. Jim sputters slightly, but the protest dies as Leo kisses him hard.

Jim is there beneath him, warm and alive and it's all Leo has dreamt of for the past three weeks. As Jim moans beneath him, Leo is briefly grateful that he closed the door. Leo draws back to let Jim draw breath.

"Missed you." The words are whispered as Leo presses rough kisses down the other man's neck, the rough unshaven stubble scratching against his own jaw. He let out a growl of annoyance but planted one last kiss on Jim's pulse before drawing back to look at his lover.

Jim's blue eyes are blown wide open, but Leo can still see the tired red rims and the black smudges. There's a scratch down one side of his face but its only superficial and other than that Jim seems remarkably fine. Jim however has other thoughts and pouts as he tries to pull Leo back in. Leo lets Jim kiss him for a moment, shifting Jim round so that he's up against the bed. Leo's hands reluctantly climb up to Jim's shoulders and push the younger man down. Jim frowns.

"Did you do anything especially brave and idiotic while you were gone?" The stethoscope is back in his hand and he's Doctor McCoy again however briefly and Jim's a patient. Jim sighs but lets Leo lift his shirt to press the metal against his heart.

"I think you meant 'or', Bones. Brave or Idiotic."

"No I definitely meant 'and'." Leo muttered. Slowly he ran his hands over Jim as he carefully watched Jim's face. A slight flinch near the hip revealed a bruise and a sharp intake of breath revealed a scrape on his leg. But nothing serious; Nothing to prevent Jim from active duty. Leo's both relieved and disappointed.

"So do I pass Doc?" Jim's smirk is back in place and Leo nods as he kissed him. "Awesome. I can tell Doctor M'Benga that you agree with his diagnosis."

"Jim, Geoff went home early." Leo muttered as he straddled Jim's lap and he could feel Jim's smile covered by his own lips. Leo let his hands circle round Jim's waist, pressing their two bodies together.

"It was a surprise." Jim muttered and Leo growled in annoyance. He bit down on Jim's lip, just hard enough to cause the other man pain. As Leo pulled back though, Jim only laughed. "It was worth it."

"Come on. Let's go home." Leo said standing and trying to straighten his uniform. He should know better than to get this carried away in public, but that was what Jim did to him. Jim nods and straightens his own uniform. As soon as they walked out of that door, they'd be nothing more than best friends.

Jim hesitated at the door, pressing one last kiss against Leo's lips. Leo felt himself smile slowly for the first time in four weeks. Jim was beaming as usual and Leo took the time to smack him over the head.

"What was that for?"

"For making me worry, you reckless idiot."

The hospital is almost deserted, but M'Benga is sat at his desk smiling at him as Leo passed. Tomorrow, Leo may have to come up with some form of retribution for M'Benga and Chapel's part in helping Jim.

Outside the moon dimly lit the streets. It was too dangerous to light the streets and each window had been carefully blacked out. Jim's hand crept into Leo's as they walked towards the apartments that the army had allocated to the doctors. Leo took advantage of the cover of darkness to ask the question that had been hovering in his mind.

"How long till you go back out?" Leo is dreading the answer, hoping that he'll get more than a couple of days

"I kinda crashed my plane. Scotty reckons it'll be a month at least before it can get airborne again."

"Damn it Jim."

But their hands remain intertwined and Leo hides his smile in the dark.

* * *

A/N: Finished my thesis, so I thought it was high time to finish this. As always reviews are love.


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